Modular electronic components comprising a printed wiring board, which are used in many modern systems, have been significantly reduced in size in recent years. Modular components provide, for example, memory expansion in personal computers, printer soft fonts for laser printers, preprogrammed electronic firmware, and solid state "disk emulators". A modular component may be coupled to a power supply, control signals, and ground lines of an external system by an electrical connector built into one end of the component. Typical modular components are produced in a size commonly referred to as a "credit card" format. This generic name is derived from the fact these components have a length and a width similar to that of a common credit card, and a thickness of approximately 3 millimeters. Modular electronic components are fragile due to this small size. Additionally, the performance capacity of modular electronic components may be diminished by exposure to high heat, electromagnetic interference, and electrostatic discharges which occur in a typical operating environment.
A prior solution provides a 2-piece external shell or encasement for the modular component to provide mechanical protection, support, electrostatic discharge shielding, electromagnetic interference shielding and heat dissipation. A typical prior encasement for a printed wiring board comprises two molded encasement halves. The printed wiring board is placed between the two encasement halves. The encasement halves are joined together around the printed wiring board using a solvent bonding or ultrasonic welding technology. Due to variations in the size of the printed wiring board and the wide variety of conventional connectors, this prior solution may require creating custom molds for each encasement half to be used with a specific modular component.
Another prior solution uses an encasement formed by two molded segments. A molded bottom segment has structural ribs to support and contain the printed wiring board. With the printed wiring board in place in the bottom segment, a molded top segment is bonded to the molded bottom segment. Thereby, the printed wiring board is locked in the encasement with a connector extending therefrom. This solution also suffers from the drawback that the bottom and top segments may require creating custom molds for each specific modular component.